By STEVE BRICKLER
WEST SENECA, N.Y. — Aquinas (No. 1 NYSSWA Class A) stayed unbeaten (18-0-2) by scoring goals in each half to move past Williamsville South (15-4-2) of Section VI, 2-0 in the Class A Far West Regional at West Seneca West High School, Saturday.
Aquinas was able to hold possession for much of the game and dictate play throughout. Early on, the Li’l Irish had two good-looking opportunities as left back Carter Wegman sent diagonal balls across to Tin Tin Pasia who was a step offside on both occasions.
With the score still 0-0, Will South had a great opportunity of its own as a ball played in from the endline across the goal led to a scramble in front that was cleared off of the goal line in the 10th minute.
With that scare behind them, the Li’l Irish continued to put pressure on the Billies’ defense with quick combination passing, knocking on the door to the opening goal of the game. Aquinas was able to break through in the 27th minute off a corner kick from the right side. Aquinas set up three players in a row on the near post, as they often do on corners. Micaiah Benjamin-Castle curled the ball over his teammates and directly inside the near post for a lead the Li’l Irish did not relinquish.
“Me, being a goalie, I always thought that setup gave me the most trouble, so let’s try to get it in that area,”said Aquinas Coach Josh Gleason when discussing how the three near post players block the sightlines of a keeper. “We see if we can flick it on or just make something happen.”
Aquinas continued to control play into the second half but found it difficult to gain separation on the scoreboard. A free kick from Ali Shabani at the top of the box was tipped just over the bar by the Will South goalie in the 45th minute. The ensuing corner kick was headed just wide by JB Leary. Ryan Lewin had a couple of clean looks from just outside the 18 in the 62nd and 66th minute that just went wide.
The danger of being able to dictate tempo and pass it around teams in the offensive third is that it creates the potential for a quick counterattack when a team is pushed up high. Will South was able to create an equalizing opportunity off a counter in the 69th minute. Aquinas goalie LJ Gleason made a diving save to his right and was able to get up and dive to the post to save the rebound as well from inside the six.
“I thought we had the better of the play for sure”, said Gleason. “It was just trying to get that one more goal to make everyone settle down a little bit. We were really concerned about Williamsville South countering or maybe having some set pieces that could have given us some trouble. Other than that, I thought we did a good job of moving the ball around and playing around them.”
That second goal finally came with 1:57 remaining when Pasia played the ball through to the left of the goal to Shabani who slotted the ball to the far post for the final margin.
“Proud of the kids, never expected to get this far. I only think about the game that’s in front of us. On to Middletown.”
Aquinas will play Section III champion Westhill (16-1-2/No. 2 NYSSWA Class A) in the state semifinals. A 1 PM start time is scheduled next Friday at Middletown High School.
The Li’l Irish are 4-1-1 all-time in state quarterfinal matchups with previous wins over Kenmore East (3-2, 2006/Class A), Grand Island (5-0, 2003/Class B) and Lewiston-Porter (2-1 OT, 1992/Class B). Aquinas lost to Iroquois (1-0, 2002/Class B) and advanced on penalty kicks in 2000 against East Aurora (Class B).
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